#2CA Sears Tower City of Chicago/Peter J. Schulz

Meet the Chicago Greeters!  If you’re headed to the Windy City, be sure to take advantage of the free Greeter Service which the city offers  visitors.  That’s right—it’s free, and what a great opportunity to get to know the city.

Chicago volunteers make up this core group that is sponsored by the Chicago Office of Tourism and offered to group sizes from one to six.  Greeters are experts in various fields and depending upon your specific interests, you will be assigned a guide that is a specialist in Chicago history, museums, ethnic Chicago, food, art or about any subject that piques your curiosity.

These are generally walking tours, although public transportation is used too to discover and learn new facts about the city.  The Greeters offer more than 40 special interest areas and more than 25 different neighborhoods.  Reservations for a Greeter should be made at least  seven days in advance so the pairing  of guide/tourist  will perfectly match.  The tours vary in length from one hour to an entire morning or afternoon depending upon specific interests and time frame.  It is entirely up to you and your schedule.

Jeff Stern, a fifth generation Chicagoan, was my Greeter on a recent trip to that city.
Specializing in Loop architecture, the Gold Coast, the south Loop and Printer’s Row, he speaks fluent French and German.   Having grown up and gone to school in the city, he knows and is friends with many of the families famous in Chicago history:  The Marshall Fields, the Palmers and the Pullmans, etc.  His grandfather was the first meat cutter in Chicago, even before Armour meats.

#14CTY Dining, River and Boats City of Chicago/Mark Montgomery

Stern shared many anecdotal stories about  prominent Chicago citizens as we walked the downtown Loop area and  he pointed out historical buildings, several of which had Tiffany domes, and Frank Lloyd Wright lobbies.  Chicago has done much to preserve its past and to provide many green spots with sculptures and fountains.

One of the stories Stern shared was about Bertha Palmer, wife of Potter Palmer, founder of the famed Palmer House Hotel.  Mrs. Palmer was ranked as one of the most influential  and prominent citizens in Chicago.  The story goes she lived in a grand mansion on the north side of Lake Michigan and entertained lavishly.   When one of the Spanish royals was in town, staying at the Palmer House,  Mrs. Palmer invited her to be her guest at a dinner party at her home.  The royal put her nose in the air and responded, “I am not accustomed to dining with the Inn Keeper’s wife.”

The Palmer House is hardly an inn.  The lobby is one of the grandest, most elaborate
pieces of architecture I have ever seen.  Yet it is warm and beckoning.  Built in 1871 and now a part of the Hilton Hotel chain, the Palmer House is Chicago’s oldest hotel but has been cared for constantly and is like a grand matron dressed up for a wonderful social event.  The gilded ceiling in the lobby, with its murals, the marble columns that define its boundaries and the greenery and balconies that overlook the space give you the feeling you are in a European establishment.  But back to reality,  Pendleton Woolen Mills has a shop on the street level in the hotel, so you know you haven’t strayed too far from home.

#2CTY Chicago Skyline City of Chicago/ Peter J.Schulz

From the Art Institute of Chicago to the American Indian Center, the city offers some of the finest cultural attractions of any city in the USA.  The city night life is legendary, and a visit to The House of Blues reconfirms the city’s claim that ‘the blues’ were invented here.  (Although several other US cities make the same claim.)  The shopping is great and a trip here wouldn’t be complete without spending a couple dollars at Marshall Field’s, which has reigned as the pre-eminent department store in the Midwest for over 150 years.
The Chicago Zoo is one of the few remaining free zoo’s in the US.

Legend has it that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over the lantern that started the great Chicago fire in 1871.  For history buffs there is a tour around  the town on a real antique red fire truck.  The tour points out many historic places.  Mrs. O’Leary is long gone, but
her legacy remains a well debated part of Chicago history.

With its beloved Cubs baseball team and the Chicago Bulls basketball team, the city is a sports lovers paradise,win or lose..
 The Navy Pier over 100 years old, is another not-to-be-missed
landmark.   Now redeveloped, it is a Mecca for  recreational use and is ranked #1 as the most visited attraction in Chicago.

#17CA Wrigley Field City of Chicago/Chris McGuire

As Frank Sinatra always sang, “Chicago.  I love it.   Bet your bottom dollar you’ll lose the blues in Chicago!”
And I think he sang from his heart. 

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Handy numbers to have if you go:
CITY OF CHICAGO:   www.cityofchicago.org/tourism,   1.877.244.2246

CHICAGO GREETERS:  Monday-Thursday, 8AM to 7PM,   7 day advance reservations necessary.
Call 312.742.1190.


THE PALMER HOUSE HILTON:  1.312.726.7500


by Ann Terry Hill

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